Plan your first activation
Start with one useful workflow, connect the evidence behind it, and put the first approved business context to work.
A first activation turns one important part of your business into context that approved AI can use reliably.
It is a focused engagement rather than a project to map the whole company. You choose one useful workflow, connect the smallest set of supporting systems, and review the result with the people who understand it.
Choose the first useful outcome
Start with a recurring question or workflow where the right business meaning matters. For example:
- prepare a monthly revenue view using Finance's approved definition;
- explain overdue invoices and the exceptions behind them;
- show the current stage of each customer onboarding;
- summarise delivery risk across active projects; or
- prepare a weekly view of sales activity.
A good first outcome has a recognisable answer, an accountable business owner, and evidence your team is permitted to use.
Start small on purpose
You do not need to connect every system or document every process before your Twin becomes useful. One bounded outcome makes the evidence, reviewers, and success criteria clear.
What happens during the activation
The current design-partner activation is normally focused into two weeks. Exact scope depends on the workflow, systems, and access your organisation approves.
| Stage | What happens | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Connect priority systems | The implementation team connects the smallest useful set of approved sources, normally read-only, and verifies that usable evidence is available. | Days 1–5 |
| Review the proposed context | Your subject experts inspect definitions, relationships, measures, exclusions, and exceptions. Nothing becomes shared business context through fluency alone. | Days 6–10 |
| Put the approved result to work | The reviewed version passes its required checks, is activated for its intended use, and is tested through an approved AI tool or the Twin workspace. | End of week 2 |
Your systems remain authoritative throughout. The Twin records the reviewed meaning built from them; it does not require a wholesale migration or replace the software that runs your business.
Identify the evidence
Choose sources because the first outcome needs them, not because they happen to be available.
Common source categories include:
- accounting, payments, and finance systems;
- documents, spreadsheets, and shared files;
- email, calendars, chat, and meeting records;
- project, engineering, and operational systems; and
- specialist databases or legacy applications.
An older system does not need to be replaced before its evidence can become useful. The implementation team confirms the safest available connection, organisation scope, refresh path, and any limitations before activation.
See Sources and availability for current examples and the questions to resolve before connecting a system.
Decide who reviews the result
The people who know the business make the important decisions.
| Person | What they contribute |
|---|---|
| Business owner | Defines the intended outcome and decides what a useful result looks like |
| Subject expert | Reviews definitions, sources, exclusions, and exceptions |
| Organisation administrator | Confirms access, connections, and who may use the result |
| Implementation lead | Connects sources, prepares the first proposal, and takes it through the required checks |
One person may cover more than one role in a smaller team. What matters is that technical setup never substitutes for accountable business review.
Agree how success will be checked
Before starting, write down:
- two or three questions the Twin should answer;
- a known result or source the team can use for comparison;
- one important edge case or exclusion; and
- one question the Twin should decline because the approved context does not support it.
This gives the team a practical acceptance test. A polished answer is not enough: the definition, version, evidence, and permitted use also need to be right.
What you should have at the end
A successful first activation should leave you with:
- verified evidence from the agreed priority systems;
- a reviewed and versioned piece of business context;
- a clear record of who approved it and what checks it passed;
- one approved way to use it, such as the Twin workspace or a configured AI assistant; and
- a short list of improvements suggested by real user questions.
The first version does not need to solve every related problem. It needs to be useful, understood, and safe to build on.
Start the conversation
Bring one priority workflow, the systems behind it, and the people who can review the result.
Already have a workspace invitation? Start your first Session instead.